Sixth View of the Colosseum c. 1550

Curator: This is Hieronymus Cock’s “Sixth View of the Colosseum,” an engraving dating back to about 1550. Editor: Oh, the melancholy beauty! It hits you right away, doesn't it? Those stark lines scratching out a colossal ruin reclaimed by unruly nature… Like time whispering secrets only the stones understand. Curator: Indeed. Cock's meticulous engraving highlights the decay of Roman grandeur. It is crucial to note the historical context; this print wasn't merely aesthetic. It functioned as a reproducible commodity, a means for those who couldn't visit Rome to consume its image. Editor: A souvenir, then. But more than that, it speaks of vanished empires and the ephemeral nature of human endeavor, no? Look how the delicate grasses soften the brute architecture, as if nature herself is undoing it, pixel by pixel… poetic justice, if you ask me! Curator: It reflects the era's fascination with classical antiquity. However, consider the labor involved: the engraver’s skill in translating architectural precision onto the copperplate, the paper-making process, the distribution networks. These elements shaped how people conceived Rome then. Editor: Oh, absolutely! It's not just Rome, but Cock's Rome, mass-produced for our eager eyes. But despite all the history and materials, that shadowed arch still whispers of human stories, both the glory and the fall... You know? Curator: Well put. The materiality and the process are inherently tied to the work's ability to resonate, to evoke Rome. The scale of production meant a wider distribution, contributing to an evolving vision of Rome through printed iterations. Editor: Still, ultimately, what strikes you is not its reproductive history or the clever economics of it all. It's the ghostly echo, that palpable sense of otherness shimmering through the lines that’s unforgettable! Curator: Precisely! It's the convergence, shall we say, of materiality, labor, and affect – which produces what we respond to. Editor: Yes, what remains is simply, beautifully…a ruin! Thanks to Cock!